Acknowledgements
This volume is the culmination of extensive work undertaken since 2012 when I curated my first exhibition at the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) in Doha, titled Hajj: The Journey through Art. This local iteration of Hajj: Journey to the Heart of Islam was developed in collaboration with the British Museum. My introduction to this scope of Islamic material culture was made possible by Venetia Porter, to whom I am immensely grateful.
Having published over the years remarkable items from the MIA collection, the idea of editing a volume to unveil fresh research and perspective on the depictions of Mecca and Medina took shape. Foremost, my heartfelt gratitude extends to all the authors of this book for their trust, their contributions to this endeavor, and their unwavering patience throughout the process.
I wish to convey my deepest appreciation to Professor Finbarr Barry Flood for providing the foreword to this volume, for his consistent support, and for sharing his wisdom and expertise since our initial encounter in Doha in 2015. Equally deserving of my sincere gratitude is Professor David J. Roxburgh for his mentorship and for sharing his incredible scholarship, which has been pivotal since our collaborative efforts began on this topic, particularly in publishing the Doha pilgrimage certificate MS.267.1998. I am also extremely grateful to Professor Christiane Gruber and Charlotte Maury for continuously sharing their insights on my work over the years.
My profound thanks extend to former MIA Director Julia Gonnella for her unwavering support of my research over the years, and to our new director Shaika Nasser Al-Nassr for leading MIA in further research on the collection. I am also indebted to my incredible colleagues at MIA, whose invaluable assistance was integral to the fruition of this project. Among the Curatorial team, special acknowledgments are due to Nicoletta Fazio for her guidance and meticulous revision of the general introduction and assistance with other chapters. Within the Digital Assets team, I extend my appreciation to Marc Pelletreau, Samar Kassab and Chrysovalantis Lamprianidis for their remarkable photographic contributions, capturing beautifully the MIA objects featured in this volume. The Library Team has been key to the pursuit of this research, in particular Susan Parker Leavy and Soumeya Menber.
I am also thankful to Moez Dridi for thoroughly proofreading the transcription and translation of MIA pilgrimage certificate MS.14.2006. I also would like to thank heartfeltly Marika Sardar for her generous input and advice on the introduction and Philip Saunders for his professionalism and efficiency in copy-editing the entire volume.
Lastly, I extend my deep gratitude to all the institutions that graciously granted permission to feature illustrations of their collections in this volume.